Chennai: Greeting voters in the Chennai Central constituency, former Union Textiles and Telecom Minister and DMK's sitting MP, Dayanidhi Maran asks people - young and old - to give him a third chance. The seat has been with the Maran family since 1996 with Dayanidhi winning from Chennai Central in the 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
Considered a DMK fortress, the party has won seven out of the 10 parliamentary elections at Chennai Central. But it may not be a bed of roses for Maran this time.
The 2G spectrum scam haunted the DMK in the 2011 Assembly elections. The party was routed in Chennai with the DMK managing to win only 2 out of the 16 assembly seats in the city.
Dayanidhi Maran, who is being investigated for the 2G spectrum scam, has kept a low profile this election avoiding requests for interviews, perhaps in fear of raising the 2G spectrum scam.
Chennai Central will witness a five-cornered fight with Maran up against AIADMK's SR Vijayakumar, who will be riding on the popularity of Jayalalithaa's schemes like the Amma Canteen. With the focus on corruption, the AAP has also thrown its hat into the ring, fielding social activist J Prabhakar.
"My chances are bright. The public know about Dayanidhi Maran. He hasn't raised a single question in parliament. The public want change," says Prabhakar.
Making up 10 per cent of the electorate in Tamil Nadu, first-time voters are expected to play a key role this election. But what do the Chennai's youth expect from their candidates?
Shubham, an engineering student in the city says, "We expect the candidate to be more inclusive, have more dialogue with the common people and to be basically much more open to inputs from young people and not have very closed form of government where the common man is not aware of how things are working out and where the funds are going."
Another first-time voter Manasa says that corruption will be on the top of her mind when she goes to vote on April 24. "Definitely, when I'm casting my vote I need to make an informed choice, this comes with thinking about the past and history of my candidates, so if I'm casting a vote in Central Chennai and Dayanidhi Maran is one of the candidate, I know he is a tainted Telecom Minister and it is after him that A Raja followed and the 2G spectrum scam followed," Manasa points out.
Though the odds may favour the Maran name, a multi-cornered contest for the very first time in Tamil Nadu has thrown the elections wide open.
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